Photo Courtesy of UCF AA

Knights suffer 30-point loss

UCF women’s basketball endured its first loss of the 2026-27 season against Florida, 95-65, on Thursday night at Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Fla.

The matchup marked the first defeat the Knights suffered under head coach Gabe Lazo.

Junior forward Mahogany Chandler-Roberts opened the scoring 3-0 for UCF (1-1, 0-0 Big 12) with a layup in the paint and a free throw.

Florida junior forward Vivian Iwuchukwu fired back with a layup, followed by a three-point jumper from junior guard Kiyomi McMiller to put the Gators (2-0, 0-0 SEC) ahead at 5-3.

Both squads battled for control, tying the score twice, until McMiller’s jumper in the paint put Florida ahead 9-7 and led to the Gators’ grasp on the lead for the remainder of the game.

Florida rounded out the first quarter in its favor, 20-17.

UCF continued its fight to keep the contest close at the top of the second period, though Florida exploded with a nine-point scoring run to widen the gap to 34-21.

Senior guard Vittoria Blasigh stopped the Gators’ momentum, draining a second-chance three-point jumper off an opponent turnover. Florida immediately responded with an 11-point scoring run, its largest of the night, and kept the lead distant at 45-24.

The Gators controlled the first half on both sides of the court, shooting 46% from the field, compared to UCF’s 43%, and notching double the Knights’ rebounds at 24.

Coming out of halftime, UCF could not rally against Florida’s offensive pressure as continuous scoring runs, courtesy of McMiller and Iwuchukwu, suffocated the Knights.

Gators sophomore guard Ja’Niya Broome made both her free throws to wrap up the matchup and hand UCF its first loss of the regular season, 95-65.

Despite the 30-point defeat, the Knights narrowly managed to outshoot the Gators from the field at 47% to Florida’s 46%. UCF committed nearly double the personal fouls as Florida, with 23 compared to the Gators’ 12.

McMiller led all players offensively, recording 42 points on 14-for-25 shooting.

Chandler-Roberts trailed with a career-best 20 points on the evening, while Blasigh followed, netting a season-high 18 points, shooting 7-for-13 from the field and 3-for-5 from three.

UCF will look to recover as it heads back home to face South Alabama (1-1, 0-0 SBC) at 6:30 p.m. Monday at Addition Financial Arena.